Shifter Replacement for the Dummy Cyclist

Road bike integrated shifter

It's occasionally, albeit rarely, amusing to see what a mess some internet freelancers make out of DIY instructions when they've obviously never DIT (Done It Themselves). They omit steps, skip over critical procedures, mangle terminology, and – in general – get it just plain wrong. Today's nominee is one such freelancer, a guy who wrote for LiveStrong.com on the basis of (we guess) his BA in "liberal arts." It's for damn sure Ryan Tubbs isn't a bike mechanic, at least based on the rubbish he posted in "How to Replace the Gear Shifter on a Bicycle."

Tubbs' ignorance of the mechanics of a bicycle rears its dummy head almost immediately, as the guy prattles in his first paragraph that,

"...the shifters connect to the bicycle's derailleurs via a wire cable. Pushing or pulling the shifter levers moves the cable and causes the derailleur to push the chain onto a different gear."

First, what other kind of cable would there be: glass? rope? And second, using a shifter is a heckuva lot more complex than "Pushing or pulling" on a lever. The kind that only require push-pull action aren't mounted on the handlebars and they're unlikely to wear out. But never mind that: let's see what Ryan got wrong.

"Remove the grip that is on the same side of the handlebar as the shifter you are replacing."

Uhhh, Ryan? not all bikes have grips. If it's a road bike, you'll need to remove and toss the handlebar tape.

"Unbolt the cable from the front or rear derailleur using the appropriate hex key; if installed, also remove the small crimp on the end of the wire. Depending on the type of shifter you have, you may need to unscrew a small housing on the body of the shifter and/or push the shifter levers into the appropriate position in order to access the other end of the cable that is inside the shifter."

Dumbass, just cut the cable somewhere that it's exposed. As for this "small housing," no one here has any idea what the idiot is talking about. Maybe the barrel adjuster? Maybe the little access hatch on some shifter housings? Who knows?

"...access the other end of the cable that is inside the shifter. Once you have located this end of the cable, you should be able to push the cable back out through the body of the shifter until you can grab a hold of it."

We're inclined to pull the cable from the shifter, since it has a little hunk of steel on the end.

"If you have brake levers that are separate from the shifters, you may also have to remove the brake lever in order to get the shifter off."

If you have brake levers that are separate from the shifters, the shifters are very likely not on the handlebars. That's not to mention that if you're replacing an integrated shifter/brake unit. you'll need to disconnect the brakes... More work Ryan never mentioned
We also note that this putz wants DIYers to reuse the cable (even though his reference says to use a new cable), and thinks you can "Replace the crimp on the end of the cable." Clearly, Tubbs has never noticed the bends placed in the cables or the frayed spots where it passes through the cable clamp.

With the exception of a brief mention of lubing the housings (unnecessary in modern housings), Tubbs says nothing about ferrules, routing of the cables, installing the housings, or the cable stops. He doesn't even mention being careful to duplicate the existing routing of the brake and shift cables.

In other words, Tubbs had no idea what he was talking about, not to mention that not everyone rides a mountain bike. That's why he's our Dumbass of the Day today. Got it?

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